Director Gus Van Sant ("Drugstore Cowboy"/"My Own Private
Idaho")
and co-writers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck put on airs of reverse
snobbery
to convey sincerity in their story about a confused genius.

Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a volatile orphaned
20-year-old janitor
at MIT, hanging out with his rough and tumble pub crawling buddies in
South
Boston. Math Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) discovers that the
Southie
is secretly a mathematical genius with a photographic memory and
becomes
his mentor. After Will gets into a scrape with the law the prof
arranges
for him to consult a long list of respected shrinks, but things don't
work
out. As a last resort, the prof steers Will to the least respected
therapist,
the instructor at Bunker Hill Community College, Sean McGuire (Robin
Williams).
The strength of the film lies in the relationship between these two
career
underachievers who despite their stubborness rally to work together to
help improve each other.

Ben Affleck plays Chuckie, Will's best friend and adviser;
while
the animated Minnie Driver plays Skylar, someone Will falls in love
with.
She's a Harvard pre-med student who has the full-package--good looks,
smarts,
personality, sensitivity and good character. She doesn't pressure Will
to change, but encourages him to fulfill his destiny.

The film rails at America's inherent anti-intellectualism
while taking
an anti-elitist stance. But all its answers for success are
clichés
-- like 'getting in touch with your inner being.' It also reduces every
problematic moment to some Psych 101 explanation. Not a work of art or
great power, but it has some moving moments.